Description

This area has most of the longest climbs in Utah. See Photos below text to get an idea as to the various crag sections. There have been about 200+ routes put up from about 200' to 2000' which add up to all most 70'000ft+ of climbing. Some with very easy pitches, some up to 5.12 and many with long runouts. Climbers used to slab climbing should find the grades about right, others who are not may find some of the runouts quite entertaining.There are also steeper climbs in the side canyons. Overall the rock is fine to excellent, although you will at times encounter a few soft spots but that is all part of the Reef experience.Note. This area is not for those whose only interest is chasing grades. Its for those climbers who like adventure . This adventure will be found in the Swell no matter what grade you think you can climb!!

Many of the routes climbed so far have great summits that overhang the back canyons by about 400', so often the descent is back down the ascent route. These longer climbs are more like mountaineering routes and always seem to give great views and lead one into very unusual rock formations. A recent article in a climbing mag called the area The Sandstone Alps which seems a fitting analogy.

As was already mentioned, many pitches are long and runout. Cam and stopper protection or a few bolts are usually found on pitches that are at least 5.7. Though, routes 5.9 or harder do tend to be better protected. It is advisable to perhaps carry a hand drill and a couple of #1 angles or 4" bolts in case one gets too far off route. Also carry extra slings to back up old webbing on the rap anchors and maybe bring a 3/8" spanner incase you need to tighten bolts, more so if no second ascent has been recorded on that climb.As of 2014 most of the climbs are still unrepeated.Due to some comments on various climbs it seems that the leader should be capable of 5.8/9 even when attempting a climb in this area that is graded for example 5.6 . This is due perhaps to some of the pitches are at times a wee bit runout. The grading systems are just for this area as there was little slab climbing in the desert to compare..On the FA's the leader most often asked the second what they thought the grade should be as the leader may at times think the climbing more difficult due to drilling on the lead and the runouts !.

All the longer routes on the slabs and in the steeper side canyons were done on sight ground up.The bolt protection was placed from free stances...not easy. So keep in mind, due to the difficulty of finding and placing protection there is marginal gear on some routes. Gear beta should be taken with a pinch of salt as these were the placements we found and hopefully you will too. If you have any doubts bring extra gear, you never know what might have been missed. For climbers who prefer even more adventure there is still a lot of unclimbed rock in this area more so on the backside of the Reef.

The Reef is a magical area but the climbing is not for everyone and perhaps that's a good thing!

NOTE. The crags are set up in alphabetical order starting from I-70 and going south along the Reef.

Getting There

This very large sandstone slab formation is located about 13.1 miles west of the Green River exit on I.70 at mile marker 147. The entrance to this well-maintained dirt road is 10.4 miles from the Price 191 exit and 2 miles past the Route 24 exit to Hanksville. Here one will find a wire gate. Go through this, and immediately turn left and go under the interstate. The section under the interstate can be sandy and a much easier entrance to get onto the good dirt road is from a gate on the opposite side of the interstate. With a car this entrance is recommended.

The dirt road then parallels the slabs for about 6+ miles. The approach to the slabs from this road takes anywhere from 20/30 minutes of easy walking. However climbs near Three Finger Canyon, Little Spotted Wolf Canyon and Uneva Canyon trail heads are much closer to a parking area. These are the three main parking places to the various climbs. The Little Spotted Wolf area is a pull off on the right about 2.1 miles from I.70, Univa Mine Canyon area is a right turn about 3.2 miles from I.70 and then a short 4x4 1/4 mile to the canyon trail head. It's about 6.1 miles from I-70 to the Three Fingers Canyon turn off, then about 2 miles of high clearance/4 wheel drive to the canyon entrance.

NOTE. The Hanksville road (Rt 24) is usually in much better shape and more convienent for Three and Two Finger Canyons. Take the Rt 24 Hanksville exit off I.70 and drive 7 miles just past a mile marker 153 thats on the left of the road. The dirt road is on the right and starts very straight then curves right (north). Drive the road for 4 miles to the small BLM post on the left..this is the 2 mile road (best with high clearance/4 Wheel drive) to Three Fingers Canyon.

To get onto the Two Finger Canyon road, which once found is an easier drive than Three Fingers ie possible with two wheel drive. From the Hanksville road entrance drive 2.4 miles to unmarked road on left, follow past pond on flat rock through trees then left (south) to obvious road up the hill. The road then flattens out and is an easy drive to its end..about 2 miles. This area now has many routes both in Two Finger and south to One Finger and then beyond to the final slab of End Game (U Crags). Other climbs are also to the north of Two Fingers (Q Crags). The Mile and a Bit Traverse that starts at Three Fingers also ends at Two Fingers.One of the nicest areas for good rock and great slab routes is L crags (Sinister Slab area)

Takes a line between Return of the Crocks and Sinister Slab. A classic slab route.Start at the lowest point of the slab between the two waves .Small cairn.P1)Easy climbing to a bolt at 40',then straight up passing two more bolts to double anchors.170'5.8R P2)Scramble easy slab passed small bushes to stance behind large flake on the right 140'P3)Climb into the obvious shallow groove passed a bolt at about 110' then hand traverse left into another open groove. Pass another bolt then continue up gr...[more]Browse More Classics in UT

As of 11-25-2006, the dirt road was washed out in several locations. I'm not sure how often or when this road is graded, but I would consider it "impassable" for a car. Even after filling in the ruts with rocks and dirt, we bottomed out in my brother's Subaru. A high clearance 4x4 will speed up your approach to the routes substantially.

Agree it does need some reorganization , but if you do read ALL the info the area's are separated by the three approaches, each climb mentions which road to hike from . Also most of the good routes have photos of the whole crag with the line of the route marked.It is a massive area and even we get confused with where we are and what we have done. Eventually we will have a more comprehensive guide to the area .I must point out that not all the routes that have been done down there are on Mt Project.It is very different compared to most desert climbing which more often than not are towers that are easily recognised.Its a pure adventure area ,and you will usually not find other climbers to consult with as is often the case, for example on sport route crags or the Cottowood canyons.Just keep going you will learn even if like us its often the hard way!!. The main dirt road has now been scraped and is car friendly. Four wheel is still advised to drive the whole distance (about 2 miles) to the mouth of Three Fingers, also the short road (1/4 mile) to the Univa trail head. The first pull off for Spotted Wolf (Death by Chocolate area) is car friendly. Good luck

Hey, Lance and Ben: I think we met you guys out at the swell at the end of October... Ned and I headed back out there last weekend and we were having trouble locating the Road to Mecca. Is there an old pallet at the start of the wash that you approach on? Is the Death by Chocolate route visible south of where you park the car? We headed up the wash, wandered around a few and then cut across to the base of the swell. The canyon we were in appeared to be more than class 4 scrambling. That would be awesome if you could turn us around to the right direction. Thanks, Errin. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yes Pallet where you pull off Yes Death by Choc very visible . The Slot canyon approach has a struggle up a V groove etc . There is a different but more complex approach detailed in Road to Mecca that avoids the 4th class approach.Road to Mecca is very easy but fun...

Thanks Paul, good to know we were in the right place then. I just wanted to confirm that. We find it a little difficult to navigate in the Swell. Next time we head out there, we should be able to get in there. The scramble up just looked more tough than class IV so I thought we might have been in the wrong spot. Since there isn't any snow it may be sooner than later. Thanks again.

[revised] I enjoyed the climbing, my climbing partner of 20+ years was freaked out a lot, with cause. I bought a 60m rope just for the trip. It turns out hat my new rope was 15 feet short! Measure your ropes before you go because you need 200 feet ropes! To be fair, the author did suggest a bolt kit "if we got too far off route," but I was on route and still had some 100 foot runouts. (This is sandstone after all.) I'd bring a bolt kit and in retrospect wouldn't have felt bad putting a couple of bolts on every pitch, for those who may follow. [Not everyone who chooses 8's and 9's is a slabmaster.] The problem is you don't know where to put them until you've climbed it.

I would normally never think of adding bolts to a finished climb and wish that if the leaders had been low on bolts that they had suggested placements for those who followed. I did that(suggest bolt placements) on Creature Comforts, in the 'Platte. I was ok with the runouts and single bolt anchors (I hammer my holes), but didn't think others would be. It worked out well enough since I suggested where they ought to go (I didn't want 5 more bolts per pitch or anything). I do believe that there are "statement climbs" on which the runnouts are a big part of the climb, but those are frequently at a high grade where regular people won't get sucked in. I expected 50 foot runouts, but going 200 feet with one piece of gear and not making the anchors isn't "Trad," its soloing. (Care to make a few suggestions before somebody goes up there with a box of bolts and a Bosch and really screws up your beautiful climbs?) I did notice the hard climb in Uneva canyon had lots of bolts.

PS: We rap'd and made every rap anchor with what turned out to be a 185 foot lead rope and a 200 foot 9 mm rope.

This looks like soooo much fun and beautiful, been wanting to go since last year. I'm planning to check it out this coming March 2010 spring break. Anyone who knows the area, want to climb with me? I'll be out there.

Went there a couple of weekends ago (May 6th-9th) for our second time. The first time was a year ago also in May. We met Lance the first trip and Lance & Paul this second time. They are really great guys putting up some really fun lines. The risk vs reward at The Swell is high. When you get to the top of some of the longer lines you feel a great sense of accomplishment. I also like that the climbs are technical requiring mostly good footwork not just a lot of upper body strength.

Best to have 4 wheel drive to get to Three Fingers Canyon. The first wash can give problems to two wheel . Its about 30 mins walk from the wash to the canyon.Little Spotted wolf parking is easy with two wheel.

I know I'm arguing with the expert here, but I think Eardley is about 3 miles south of one finger... Please correct me if I'm wrong. Looking at the pictures, Eardley (according to Nat. Geo.)/Two finger just doesn't match up. Is this right: SWELL MAP PIC